RPM Living has made the top 5 of MHN's annual Top 50 Property Management Firms rankings for 2023! For more information on the rankings and methodology, please visit Multi-Housing News’ website.
For the latest news, visit RPMLiving.com/blog.
Lindsay Jacobs, our Senior Vice President of Marketing, was recently featured in Multi-Housing News where she shares what's become top-priority for prospects and residents, like helping the greater good through sustainable features and amenities and giving back to the local community, highlighting our in-house charitable arm RPM Serves as an example. Read the full article on MHN's website.
For the latest news, visit RPMLiving.com/blog.
RPM Living is now the sixth largest manager in the nation, moving up one spot to No. 6 on the Top 50 List of Apartment Managers by the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC). The firm had the second largest portfolio increase among the Top 50 managers.
In 2022, RPM Living experienced its largest year of growth, adding nearly 50,000 units to its portfolio, and entering six new states, including Indiana, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Today, the firm manages a total of 148,603 units across 25 states. This path of purposeful growth has not only expanded RPM’s national footprint but created opportunities to bring on incredible talent from inside and outside the industry, further diversifying and enhancing the knowledge and skills of its teams.
“The opportunities created for our associates is truly what excites me most about our growth – expanding our footprint purposefully and strategically allows us to stay one step ahead of the competition,” says Jason Berkowitz, Chief Executive Officer of RPM Living. “Our No. 6 ranking is a true testament to our teams and our commitment to living our vision of being a place where extraordinary people thrive.”
This vision – along with a new mission and set of core values – was introduced at the end of 2022 to better align with who the company is today and to ensure the reimagined values ladder up to the mission and vision. Each element also reinforces a focus on advanced performance, enhanced client and resident relationships, and cultivating a people-centric organization for its 3,200 associates.
By growing strategically, RPM has also been able to keep an ongoing focus on technology and innovation. Its Analytics team was recently named a 2023 CRE Tech Influencer by GlobeSt.com for its custom proprietary solutions and forward thinking. Also recognized this past year for bold, impactful ideas, RPM’s Marketing team was named Department of the Year in the 2022 PR & Marketing Excellence Awards.
The NMHC Top 50 is the industry’s chief ranking of the nation’s 50 largest apartment developers, 50 largest apartment owners, 50 largest apartment managers, 25 largest builders and 10 largest syndicators. This year marks the fourth consecutive year RPM has been included in the industry’s chief ranking of the nation’s largest managers after debuting at No. 42 in 2020.
For more information about RPM and its national portfolio, visit RPMLiving.com.
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About RPM Living
RPM Living is a full-service multifamily management company offering an innovative and personalized approach to real estate services including management, investment and development. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, RPM is ranked #6 on the NMHC Top 50 Largest Apartment Manager list, managing more than 150 clients, 10 regional offices and 148,000 units, with an owned portfolio of $3 billion. Founded by Jason Berkowitz in 2002, the firm has grown to over 3,200 associates nationwide spread across over 45+ markets, all of whom share the collective vision to enhance clients’ investments through customized solutions and exceptional resident-centric service. To learn more about RPM, visit RPMLiving.com.
Photo: Olmsted Savannah, a 163-unit property in Savannah, GA which RPM Living developed, owns and manages.
For the latest news, visit RPMLiving.com/blog.
RPM Living, a full-service management company and the seventh largest apartment manager in the nation, has been awarded management of Michigan-based GSH Real Estate’s entire 5,000+-unit portfolio of conventional multifamily properties.
The partnership, born out of a client referral, provides a tremendous opportunity for both companies to collaborate on a variety of value-add efforts across the portfolio, to include enhanced resident services, amenities, and unit renovations.
“We aim to collaborate with innovative partners that support our goal of providing high-quality housing and superior returns,” says Gideon Pfeffer, CEO & Managing Partner of GSH Real Estate Group. “RPM Living’s values and strategic approach to property management complements the experience we provide to our residents and investors.”
RPM took over management of the portfolio in stages from November 2022 to February 2023. The majority of GSH’s portfolio (13 communities) is in the Midwest throughout Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, with an additional three communities in Florida and Maryland. RPM’s partnership with GSH further expands and solidifies its footprint as one of the nation’s top multifamily management companies.
“Our roots come from a principal mindset – we pride ourselves on creating value by being innovative and creative with property operations,” says Jason Berkowitz, CEO of RPM Living. “As a likeminded partner, GSH is aligned with our focus on best practice and always operating with a people-first mentality, in terms of both our associates and residents. We’re excited to continue elevating the living experience across this portfolio alongside GSH.”
RPM first entered the Midwest region in March 2021 and has steadily grown its presence since then. Today, RPM manages more than 7,000 units throughout 10 Midwest markets including Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Lansing, Madison, Minneapolis, and Omaha.
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About RPM Living
RPM Living is a full-service multifamily management company offering an innovative and personalized approach to real estate services including management, investment and development. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, RPM is ranked #7 on the NMHC Top 50 Largest Apartment Manager list, managing more than 150 clients, 10 regional offices and 148,000 units, with an owned portfolio of $3 billion. Founded by Jason Berkowitz in 2002, the firm has grown to over 3,200 associates nationwide spread across over 45+ markets, all of whom share the collective vision to enhance clients’ investments through customized solutions and exceptional resident-centric service. To learn more about RPM, visit RPMLiving.com.
About The GSH Real Estate Group
The GSH Group is a privately held real estate investment firm specializing in the acquisition and management of multifamily residential properties in multiple markets that support economic stability, growth, and strong educational systems. Our growth-oriented strategy is a disciplined approach to acquiring and managing properties, carefully curating a portfolio of high cash-flowing opportunities for our investors. GSH and its ESG-related Meadows brand focus on enhancing their communities with a concierge approach to improving their residents' lives while providing investors with ethical and transparent communications with the opportunity to achieve superior returns on investments. To learn more, visit www.gshrealestate.com.
Photo: The Grove, a 320-unit community in Grand Rapids, Michigan, owned by GSH Real Estate Group and managed by RPM Living.
For the latest news, visit RPMLiving.com/blog.
RPM Living’s Analytics Team has received recognition for its forward thinking, having been named a 2023 CRE Tech Influencer by GlobeSt.com. Formed in 2020, the team has developed and implemented a data infrastructure that helps to seamlessly move data around the company, greatly improving efficiency across all levels and departments of the organization during its largest years of growth.
The Analytics team has developed tools and processes to help the organization scale and capture data to make informed decisions including a customized marketing BI dashboard that provides proprietary data insights that directly impact property performance, an internal key performance indicator (KPI) program that’s able to predict NOI, a front-end reporting tool to provide better insight into property performance, and an internal billback application that has greatly increased collections of billable services.
By leveraging these tools and technology, the Analytics team has supported and enabled our best-in-class Transitions & Due Diligence team in transitioning in a record number of properties, which directly supported the organization being able to climb from No. 42 to No. 6 on the NMHC Top 50 list in just three years.
CRE Tech Influencers recognizes those in the commercial real estate space that not only have 360-degree knowledge of technology but an in-depth understanding of the problems the technology needs to solve. The CRE Tech Influencer accolade compliments other recent awards RPM has earned including its Marketing team being named Department of the Year in the 2022 PR & Marketing Excellence Awards.
To read more about GlobeSt.’s 2023 Tech Influencer, click here. To learn more about RPM Living, visit RPMLiving.com.
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About RPM Living
RPM Living is a full-service multifamily management company offering an innovative and personalized approach to real estate services including management, investment and development. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, RPM is ranked #6 on the NMHC Top 50 Largest Apartment Manager list, managing more than 150 clients, 10 regional offices and 148,000 units, with an owned portfolio of $3 billion. Founded by Jason Berkowitz in 2002, the firm has grown to over 3,200 associates nationwide spread across over 45+ markets, all of whom share the collective vision to enhance clients’ investments through customized solutions and exceptional resident-centric service. To learn more about RPM, visit RPMLiving.com.
For the latest news, visit RPMLiving.com/blog.
It’s no surprise multifamily, like many industries over the past few years, has experienced unique hiring challenges as the workplace continues to evolve at a rapid pace. Likewise, the demands and desires of residents has kept the industry on its toes. But with constraints comes the opportunity to do things differently, and sometimes even better.
When RPM Living’s Operations team in Dallas was faced with recent hiring challenges, they tapped into their local resources and close partnership with Fort Worth Housing Solutions (FWHS) to find a solve that would not only benefit both organizations but the local Fort Worth community. The result did more than that, setting the wheels in motion to build an impactful program for local students to gain experience in business while immersing them in the local community.
FWHS was established by the City of Fort Worth in 1938 to provide safe, quality housing for low- to moderate-income residents to help them lay the foundation to improve their lives and set them up for success. FWHS works closely with various partners to promote economic independence including RPM Living who manages 15 of its communities throughout the Fort Worth area.
As the effects of the nation’s recent hiring crisis began to take hold in the Fort Worth area, RPM’s Operations team connected with FWHS President Mary-Margaret Lemons to discuss potential solutions. Mary-Margaret, who has a close relationship with the school board suggested RPM meet with the Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) to explore potential partnership opportunities with local schools and the possibility of implementing a paid internship program.
RPM Regional Vice President Anita Hord and Vice President Lisa Catlett connected with FWISD’s senior team to learn more about the vocational programs and how the two organizations could partner to create something impactful. Through several conversations and brainstorms, the paid internship was born.
To promote the internship, RPM leaned on its Marketing and Recruiting teams who eagerly jumped at the opportunity to help by creating collateral to distribute to nearby schools and working up intern-specific job postings. This paired with close collaboration with FWISD, brought the team many bright students.
“Interviewing intern student applicants from FWISD was so enlightening, learning their thoughts on college majors and career goals,” says Anita Hord, Regional Vice President at RPM Living. “In nearly every case, I was able to tie what they saw themselves doing in the future, to the apartment business, and explain to them what a variety of opportunities we offer.”
Throughout the process, one clear candidate stood out: Jonathan Ortiz. The local Forth Worth native’s eagerness and desire to learn how a business works landed him the internship at FWHS’ Cambridge Court, an affordable 330-unit community managed by RPM near the Western Hills North sub-division. A high school senior at World Language Institute in Fort Worth, Jonathan is bilingual and aspires to study business or marketing in college. He works 15 hours per week at Cambridge Court, spending Saturdays immersed in learning the leasing process.
“It has been such a pleasure having Jonathan at Cambridge Court, and the residents have really enjoyed getting to know him” says Charlie Kinnard, Regional Manager. “He is a bright individual who brings a fresh take to the leasing process.”
We caught up with Jonathan to learn more about his experience at Cambridge Court and what he’s enjoying the most.
RPM Living: What’s your favorite part about the leasing process?
Jonathan Ortiz: My favorite part about the leasing process would have to be when the applicant is approved, and knowing you were able to help someone.
RPM: What motivates you?
JO: What motivates me is the hard work and effort of my co-workers.
RPM: What is your favorite thing about living in Ft. Worth?
JO: My favorite thing about living in Fort Worth is the different activities there are to enjoy.
RPM: What are a few things you’ve learned so far during your time at Cambridge Court?
JO: A couple things I’ve learned during my time at Cambridge Court is that patience is key. Being able to communicate is also important because it helps others understand clearly.
“The opportunity to work with FWISD by opening up an internship for an overachieving and deserving student like Jonathan is in lock step with our shared missions,” says Mary-Margaret Lemons, President of FWHS. “We’re committed to improving lives in our community and having Jonathan work with RPM at Cambridge Court is a win for all parties. His success will open the door for future students to learn, flourish and make a positive impact here in Fort Worth.”
While the multifamily and recruiting landscape continues to change, creating genuine relationships with the local community as well as the next generation, will continue to be a key starting point to creating impactful moments and profound connections. RPM is pleased to do just that by attending a FWISD-hosted job fair in April which will offer vocational programs in areas including construction, electrical, and business management, among others.
For more information on RPM Living, visit rpmliving.com.
For more information on Fort Worth Housing Solutions, visit fwhs.org.
For more information on Fort Worth Independent School District, visit fwisd.org.
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For the latest news, visit RPMLiving.com/blog.
RPM Living announces the acquisition of Ashton on West Dallas in Houston’s Montrose submarket, in the heart of the city’s urban core. The acquisition marks RPM’s 17th acquisition in the greater Houston area and the wrap-style community is the second Houston asset to be added to the RPM Multi-Family Fund I portfolio.
Located within walking distance to Houston’s expansive Buffalo Bayou Hike and Bike Trail, Ashton on West Dallas is in a highly convenient location with immediate access to the city’s central business district and multiple city parks. Surrounded by Houston’s most vibrant entertainment districts and attractions, the community is near a variety of neighborhood bars and retail that make up the Montrose, Midtown, and Washington Ave. neighborhoods.
Built in 2013, Ashton on West Dallas features 246 units with 10-foot ceilings throughout, elevator-serviced corridors, and a stand-alone 24-hour fitness studio. Modern one- and two-bedroom residences have floor-to-ceiling windows, wood floors, and stone counters.
“Ashton on West Dallas provides us great opportunity with the potential for outsized rental growth given the area’s limited construction pipeline and Class A absorption projected to remain strong in light of the increased cost of home-ownership and Houston’s consistent population growth,” says Hank Farrell, Chief Executive Officer of RPM Living Investments.
The acquisition was financed by Amerant Bank. For more information on RPM Investments, visit RPMLivingInvestments.com.
Project Highlights
Owner: RPM Living
Multifamily Manager: RPM Living
Developer/Builder: Alliance Residential
Location: Houston, TX
Opened: 2013
Number of units: 246
Unit mix: 1 and 2 bedrooms
About RPM Living
RPM Living is a full-service multifamily management company offering an innovative and personalized approach to real estate services including management, investment and development. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, RPM is ranked #7 on the NMHC Top 50 Largest Apartment Manager list, managing more than 100 clients, nine regional offices and 112,000 units, with an owned portfolio of $3 billion. Founded by Jason Berkowitz in 2002, the firm has grown to over 2,500 associates nationwide spread across over 35 markets, all of whom share the collective vision to enhance clients’ investments through customized solutions and exceptional resident-centric service. To learn more about RPM, visit RPMLiving.com.
For the latest news, visit RPMLiving.com/blog.
As the first multifamily management company to be recognized in the Public Relations and Marketing Excellence Awards, RPM Living’s Marketing team has been awarded 2022 Department of the Year. The annual PR and marketing industry awards identify leading agencies and corporate departments who delivered quantifiable business results for their respective clients.
RPM’s Marketing team is structured like an in-house agency, but has the added benefit of industry knowledge, giving it an advantage over other management companies and agencies. Comprised of agency-trained internal and external experts, the team’s unique approach and expertise allows them to develop strong brands that elevate and enhance the 450+ communities RPM manages and set them up to be successful right out the gate.
With a large role in securing new business opportunities, RPM’s Marketing team has directly supported the explosive growth of RPM Living, becoming the fastest growing multifamily company two years in a row, helping the organization grow from the 42nd to the 7th Largest Multifamily Manager on the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) Top 50 Apartment Manager List, the authoritative industry leader.
In the past year alone, the department has launched multiple programs and processes that directly impact performance, including a customized marketing BI dashboard to provide proprietary data that guides strategic business decisions, a complete CRM platform for RPM’s entire portfolio of properties that streamlines the leasing and retention process, and complete branding and digital services which brought previously outsourced services in-house for a more strategic solution at a lower cost.
The team is led by Chief Marketing Officer Alexis Vance and Senior Vice President of Marketing Lindsay Jacobs who have been able to attract high-caliber candidates in one of the most competitive job markets to build out an industry-leading marketing team. Over the past two years, the team has grown from a handful of associates to nearly 40 team members and experienced 15+ internal promotions.
“Our innovative, results-oriented team is strategically creative and creatively strategic,” says Alexis Vance. “Years of experience, truckloads of talent, and a lot of fun has allowed us to support the organization during a time of immense growth and really do things differently in the multifamily industry.”
To learn more about RPM, visit RPMLiving.com. For more information on the Public Relations and Marketing Excellence awards visit bintelligence.com/pr-excellence.
About RPM Living
RPM Living is a full-service multifamily management company offering an innovative and personalized approach to real estate services including management, investment and development. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, RPM is ranked #7 on the NMHC Top 50 Largest Apartment Manager list, managing more than 100 clients, nine regional offices and 112,000 units, with an owned portfolio of $3 billion. Founded by Jason Berkowitz in 2002, the firm has grown to over 2,500 associates nationwide spread across over 35 markets, all of whom share the collective vision to enhance clients’ investments through customized solutions and exceptional resident-centric service. To learn more about RPM, visit RPMLiving.com.
About Business Intelligence Group
The Business Intelligence Group was founded with the mission of recognizing true talent and superior performance in the business world. Unlike other industry award programs, these programs are judged by business executives who have experience and knowledge. The organization's proprietary and unique scoring system selectively measures performance across multiple business domains and rewards those companies whose achievements stand above those of their peers.
For the latest news, visit RPMLiving.com/blog.
Kevin Owens, Division President of RPM Living has been recognized among the industry’s most notable professionals as a 2022 Multifamily Influencer by GlobeSt. for his outstanding leadership and dedication to people. Kevin’s commitment to personal connection and effective guidance has been crucial to RPM's explosive growth into the 7th largest apartment manager and to the support of its associates.
As Division President for RPM Living, Kevin oversees community operations and performance across 21 states, ensuring teams feel supported and have the necessary tools and resources. Additionally, as a member of the Executive Leadership team, he participates in driving strategy and initiatives, and setting goals for the organization. He has been integral to RPM’s exponential growth over the past year, growing his region by more than 80 percent and directly supporting RPM’s climb from No. 42 in 2020 to No. 7 in 2022 on NMHC’s Top 50 Largest Apartment Managers list.
With more than 20 years' experience in property management operations, Kevin's dedication to personal connection has led to him being a truly effective and respected leader as seen in the nearly 20 associates he’s led over the years that now serve in executive roles.
Kevin is also heavily involved in local and national IREM, currently serving as the National IREM Chair of the Membership and Credentialing Committee after having served two very successful years as President of the Georgia chapter of IREM which took place during the pandemic. Under Kevin’s guidance, the Georgia division increased membership at a time when most chapters were losing members. Kevin is also a frequent panel speaker and contributor for various industry-leading organizations and volunteers in his local community.
GlobeSt’s Multifamily Influencers recognizes some of the most notable professionals in the multifamily space for their critical contributions to the industry and their ability to navigate the ever-changing multifamily landscape. Click here to view the full list of 2022 Multifamily Influencers on GlobeSt.com.
For more information on RPM Living, visit rpmliving.com.
For the latest news, visit RPMLiving.com/blog.
Featured in the July/August 20222 issue of Western Multifamily & Affordable Housing Business. Click here to view the full article.
By Alexis Vance, Chief Marketing Officer
KPIs, also known as key performance indicators, play a crucial role in multifamily. KPIs are measurements of specific activities that directly influence strategy. When leveraged correctly, they provide invaluable data and insight that can positively affect property performance and ultimately inform strategy, allowing you to make thoughtful business decisions.
A KPI is simply a measurable value that evaluates performance. For example, conversions from a digital ad source is one of several KPIs that may indicate effectiveness of an overall strategy. KPIs provide a combination of data points that are then used to create a unique strategy to achieve a set of identified goals. KPIs present a piece of the picture that must be viewed in relation to the whole picture. When applied correctly, KPIs are extremely powerful tools that have a direct and timely impact on property performance and NOI goals and objectives.
Start With Strategy
Before determining which KPIs are right for you and your property, it’s important to first understand your strategy and business objectives. Strategy informs the types of KPIs to use by taking into consideration the specific asset, asset type, client portfolio, marketing channel, timeframe, market and business goals. What works for a luxury high-rise lease-up in downtown Chicago in January will be different than a stable student-housing community in rural Florida in August. When you understand your strategy, you can then determine and measure the KPIs that best align.
Leading and Secondary KPIs
To start, determine the type of leading KPIs that have the biggest impact on performance related to your goals. Typically, these leading KPIs are at the bottom of the marketing funnel — a term that measures a the customer journey, from the point they hear about you to the point they complete a sale. These last-mile KPIs typically focus on conversion rates and cost-per-acquisition or revenue.
To truly have an impact, a thoughtful marketer understands there are also secondary KPIs that are important to measure as they influence performance and work with leading KPIs. For example, impressions, click-through-rates and conversions would be considered secondary KPIs to digital performance while various conversion KPIs would be primary. The use of leading and secondary KPIs will ensure comprehensive performance evaluation and proper calibration of your strategy.
Let’s look at an example using a digital pay-per-click (PPC) campaign. PPC means an advertiser, in this case a multifamily operator, pays to have a property ad appear above other search results on websites like Google.
If we exclusively looked at cost-per-lease as the KPI, and we did not meet our goal, does it mean the campaign for this asset in this market didn’t work? Not necessarily. The secondary KPI, something like number of click-throughs to a website, may provide more insight into the role this marketing tactic plays in performance. Looking at a comprehensive set of leading and secondary KPIs allows us to make the best tactical decision in this scenario, saving time and money.
Multi-Touch Attribution
Considered the gold standard to determine the level of effectiveness for prospect touchpoints, multi-touch attribution gives us an understanding of how different channels (property website, social media, digital ads, etc.) in our media mix contribute to the ultimate conversion action of a signed lease, which is typically our leading KPI.
Multi-touch attribution determines the value of each customer touchpoint that leads to a conversion. According to Nielsen, multi-touch attribution is a marketing effectiveness measurement technique that takes all of the touchpoints on the consumer journey into consideration and assigns fractional credit to each so that a marketer can see how much influence each channel has on a sale.
Using the aforementioned scenario, if we measure multi-touch attribution, it may tell us that PPC is essential to converting organic website traffic, which accounts for people who land on your website without using paid clicks. Without PPC, we may learn that our lease conversions from the website drop significantly. Measuring traffic referrals - visits to your site from links that appear on a different site - to the property website is a secondary KPI that has now provided critical details in measuring the overall performance of the marketing campaign.
Consider the Market
Awareness of all factors influencing KPIs will allow you to set them appropriately in any given scenario. The market you’re in will influence how you define your KPIs the same way the asset type or marketing channel influences KPIs. At the individual market level, we set KPI benchmarks that provide relevant insight into performance. An example of a market-level KPI would be determining how demographic segments within any given designated market area (DMA) interact with marketing strategies and communication channels. Analyzing demographic-specific needs and habits will have an impact on where KPI benchmarks land.
The pandemic, which noticeably affected every market, is a great example of how different needs require different KPIs. When the pandemic took place, our marketing KPIs shifted to accommodate various sales experiences, like self-guided tours and virtual tours, thus widening the bottom of our marketing funnel. Now, we’re measuring a variety of tour types, which has opened an entirely new set of sales KPIs and benchmarks around each type of tour.
Dive into the Data
Equally as important is how you engage and apply the findings from your KPIs. Successful marketers relentlessly deepen their resources and insights and leverage data to continuously test their efforts.
There is no KPI that is set it and forget it. The frequency and cadence for how often to assess performance will depend on the channel and KPI. For example, you likely want to review PPC KPIs on a more frequent weekly basis because this type of marketing tactic yields immediate impact as opposed to search-engine-optimization (SEO), which can be looked at less frequently because the impact is demonstrated through longer lead times.
As marketers, it is our responsibility to proactively manage efficient ROI through strong performance. KPIs do just that. It’s important to note that if something isn’t working, it doesn’t mean you need to completely pivot. KPIs provide us with key intel to finely tune our strategy and determine which levers to pull and when. Sometimes simply adjusting spend level, messaging or creative is enough to make a big impact. When something’s not working, take pause, watch it more closely and tweak as needed.
Being agile is a critical differentiator in the multifamily industry, where unknown factors and changes are bound to occur. This, paired with a thoughtful strategy with long-term goals in place, is an invaluable combination.
Alexis Vance is the chief marketing officer with Austin, Texas-based RPM Living, a multifamily management company active in approximately 35 markets. She can be reached at alexis.vance@rpmliving.com.
For the latest news, visit RPMLiving.com/blog.
